


The Barbaric Archipelago (Celebrate HTTYD Day 5)

by amethystviolist



Series: Celebrate HTTYD Challenge Week [5]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Nim's Island AU, i just ran with it, this is such a weird concept idk man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-09 08:38:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6898909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amethystviolist/pseuds/amethystviolist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Astrid is on vacation with her family on a deserted island... The only problem is that the island may not be as deserted as the cruise line thinks.</p>
<p>This is pretty much a re-imagining of Nim's Island. But with dragons. And no cliffhangers about what happened to the one boy who saw Nim.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Barbaric Archipelago (Celebrate HTTYD Day 5)

**Author's Note:**

> I FINISHED IT I FINISHED IT!!!! *victory dance*
> 
> Ahem... Comments are lovely. Have a nice day.

Though the treeline was only a few steps behind her, the sounds of the vacationing families faded dramatically when Astrid pushed her way deeper into the jungle-like forest. Palm leaves slipped under her fingertips as she left her mother and friends behind. An unusually large lizard scuttled across her path, and Astrid jumped back with a small gasp as the yellow tail whipped into the underbrush and disappeared.

Had those been _wings_ on its back?

Astrid shook her head, exhaling carefully. Lizards didn’t fly, not even on unexplored islands. It was probably some leaves, or maybe odd spines, that she had seen on its back. With renewed determination, Astrid walked farther into the wild forest.

So far, this ‘vacation’ had been a nightmare. The cruise ship was nice, of course, but it was only so big; she couldn’t avoid Scott’s flirtatious and pathetic come-on’s for very long while they were both trapped in the middle of the ocean. And though she continued to insist that she and Scott were not a couple (and God willing, they never would be a couple, either), her mother and Scott’s parents kept ‘coincidentally’ signing onto the same luxurious cruises. The one small blessing was that the Thorston family had decided to go to France instead of the tropical cruise, so the twins weren’t wreaking havoc on the ship like they usually did.

Bird calls and the buzzing of hidden insects provided a background music to her increasingly heavy breathing as she clambered up a steep slope. If Astrid’s mom could see her now, covered in dust and mud and sporting a slight sunburn, she would be appalled. The cruise patrons were already worried about some of the firebugs that had lit some tents on fire, and then some people kept tripping over air, and the sand sometimes looked like it moved on its own.

Basically, the island was freaky enough even in a large, safe group at the very edge of the island’s beach.

Now Astrid was going off alone, deep into the center of the unexplored territory.

When her dad had been alive, he had supported her playing sports and going camping and all sorts of _fun_ things to do- like exploring. But her dad wasn’t alive, and so her mom wanted Astrid to be a charming lady, so that she could someday take over the business of trading stocks.

What Astrid wanted didn’t really matter anymore.

Something in the trees rustled just as she finally struggled to reach the crest of the hill, and Astrid turned to see what it was. She managed to glimpse a pair of startlingly human eyes staring at her with surprise, before a rock tilted, and her feet dropped out from under her. Astrid let out a cry as she uncontrollably tumbled back down the rocky slope, only to hit a tree with a shaking _thud_ halfway down. Groaning, she tried to force her wobbly legs to stand, reaching behind her to get leverage from the tree that had saved her.

Her hand hit something warm and smooth, and Astrid frowned in confusion. That didn’t feel like wood…

Slowly, she twisted around to look at what had stopped her from falling.

A huge black snout with two curious green eyes looked back.

Astrid screamed, and scrambled away from the creature, barely managing to keep her footing on the steep slope. The giant black lizard watched her with interest, its claws safely anchored in the rocky earth. The girl felt her heart madly pumping her body with adrenaline, but the lizard was blocking the way downhill, and she couldn’t possibly outrun it by going uphill.

“Are you real?”

Astrid couldn’t help it. She screamed again.

When she regained her footing from the sudden fright, she found someone crouching on the back of the enormous lizard. The boy had close-cropped auburn hair that messily hung just above his ears, and wore plain-woven clothes that had clearly been worn down by sea air. He seemed perfectly comfortable atop the giant lizard, and maybe even amused by Astrid’s scared reaction.

“What?” Astrid blurted, her eyes sweeping over the strange scene fearfully. “Am I- Yes, of course I’m real! But I don’t- wait, are you real? Did I fall down and hit my head?”

“I don’t think you hit your head,” the strange boy replied, looking her up and down curiously. The black lizard eerily was doing the same, and Astrid suddenly felt like she was being X-rayed by the two pairs of green eyes.

“Who are you?” Astrid demanded, for lack of anything better to say.

“My name is Hiccup,” the boy replied warily. “And this is Toothless.” The lizard bobbed its head at her, almost like it understood the introduction. Hiccup? What kind of a name was that?

He certainly hadn’t been on the cruise ship with her.

“Do- Do you _live_ here?” Astrid asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Hiccup answered. “This is our island.”

“‘Our’ island? You and who else?” she questioned. “You don’t... _look_ like a tribal islander.”

“That’s because I’m not,” Hiccup said simply. Astrid narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Were you spying on me?” she accused him.

“I’m watching all of you,” he answered, and Astrid felt a chill run up her spine at the hard look in his eyes. “You don’t belong here. The island isn’t kind to outsiders.”

“What do you mean by that?” Astrid snapped, hoping her voice wasn’t shaking..

“Just look! They’re not respecting the island,” Hiccup explained. He pointed to the beach, which was just visible from their higher ground. “They’re leaving trash, and talking about building things here, and they…” Hiccup looked away, his shoulders tense. “They’ve been killing the animals in their way.” Astrid could feel her eyes widen with surprise, but she shook her head anyway.

“We just want a place to go on vacation,” Astrid argued, and glanced down the hill again. How injured would she be if she just jumped to the side and aimed for the far-away ground? “What’s wrong with a beach trip? It’s beautiful here! We won’t make you leave or anyth-” She cut off with a gasp as Hiccup’s black lizard spread what could only be wings.

Wings meant that it wasn’t a lizard. It was so, definitely, totally, very much not a lizard.

“It’s a dragon!” Astrid squeaked in a very high-pitched voice, amazed she could talk at all.

“ _He_ is a dragon, yes,” Hiccup corrected. “And this is why outsiders can’t come here. Not even to ‘vacation’.” He might as well have just made the air quotes. Astrid could hear the motion perfectly in his sarcastic tone. “If the world knows about them, they’ll be in incredible danger.”

“There have been rumors about dragons in the Barbaric Archipelago for hundreds of years,” Astrid breathed, blinking rapidly as if she could clear her eyes of this insanity.

“Yep, now you know those are true. Hooray,” the boy said flatly. Astrid took a step back, farther up the slope.

“I have to warn them,” she blurted, and started to run up the slope, her feet struggling for purchase. Suddenly her shirt tightened, and the ground shrank rapidly below her feet. Astrid screamed (she was getting tired of screaming because of this wild island boy) and clung to the dragon’s leg for dear life as she was whisked over the treetops to one of the taller clusters of trees. The dragon darted between some branches, and set her down on a branch thick enough to drive a car.

“Where am- Why- You _kidnapped me_!” Astrid cried in outrage, punching Hiccup in the shoulder as he slid off his dragon (had he built a saddle? ...Not important!) and tried to approach her.

“Look, girl, I don’t-”

“Astrid,” she snapped, and he just nodded calmly, his hands outstretched gently toward her like she was a startled animal.

“Look, Astrid, I don’t want to hurt you. I just need to make sure you won’t tell anyone about us before I take you back to your family,” Hiccup explained. “The dragons have to be a secret. Our island has to be a secret.”

“I don’t keep secrets!” Astrid spat back. “Now take me back, _right now_ , dragon boy!”

“Astrid, I can’t do that,” Hiccup replied, looking pained. “They’ll- They’ll kill Toothless.”

“The dragon? The- _That’s_ what you’re worried about?!” Astrid cried. “Look, ‘ _Hiccup_ ’-” and she actually did make air quotes, because no way that was his real name, “-I have no idea what your deal is with living on a savage island with dragons, but my family and friends are in danger from these creatures! Don’t these things all have sharp teeth, and scary claws, and- and breathe fire?!”

“Some spew boiling water or spit acid,” Hiccup replied helpfully. Astrid glared at him, and he smiled apologetically, holding his palms up in surrender. “Okay! Okay. I know that dragons look dangerous. But really, they’re beautiful, intelligent creatures. If you just-”

“I am not listening to a crazy boy who lives in a forest and rides dragons!” Astrid snapped. Hiccup opened his mouth to argue, when his expression changed. He swung a leg over the dragon’s neck and settled himself in the saddle, before holding a hand out to her.

“Then I won’t speak,” he said simply. “Just let me show you.”

No. No way. This was crazy and reckless and- and what would her mother say?

“Please, Astrid.”

His eyes were so earnest and sincere. There were freckles scattered across his cheeks and nose, Astrid noticed suddenly. They were probably brought out by time spent in the warm island sun.

And since when did Astrid care what her mother thought?

She didn’t take his hand, but she did take his offer. Astrid mounted the dragon with much less grace, but managed to adjust her seating without falling to her death.

“We’re going to take this nice and slow,” Hiccup told her. “There’s nothing to worry-” The dragon tensed, then shot out of the tree, ripping through the leaves and rocketing into the blue sky.

Astrid nearly screamed again, but honestly, she had screamed more times today than she usually did in a whole year. Instead, she flung herself forward and wrapped her arms and her legs around the island boy’s thin torso, squeezing her eyes shut in fear. The dragon leveled out for a moment, then slowly tilted to one side.

“Oh no,” Hiccup deadpanned, and Astrid’s anxiety spiked just before they began spiraling into a freefall that twisted Astrid’s stomach more than any roller coaster ever had.

“What are you doing? We need her to like us!” Hiccup shouted as the dragon dipped into the waves of the ocean on the opposite side of the island from the tourists, and Astrid had the sudden realization that the boy did not control what the dragon did.

“This is it, this is the end. I am going to die,” Astrid began muttering, squeezing her whole body around Hiccup’s and still not feeling secure as the dragon flipped and dove and basically threw her internal organs all over the place.

“Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile,” huffed the boy, but Astrid heard the note of fondness in his insult anyway. Hiccup was fond of the dragon that was trying to kill them both… Yep, definitely crazy.

Astrid did not want to die like this.

“I won’t tell anyone! Please, I’ll keep your secret just please, _please_ get me off of this thing alive!” Astrid finally cried, burying her face in the back of Hiccup’s shirt. Distractedly, she noticed that he smelled like woodsmoke.

The dragon inexplicably spread his wings and brought them to a level flight over the island, going much more slowly than his breakneck pace from just a moment before.

Tentatively, Astrid dared to open her eyes.

And she gasped.

The island was _beautiful_. The other islands in the Barbaric Archipelago tended to be small and rocky, utterly devoid of life. But Hiccup’s island, the dragons’ island, was cracked by a crystal clear stream that tumbled over a cliffside and then snaked through the trees all the way to the sea. Flowers bloomed on hanging vines, birds and small dragons flitted between different trees, and Astrid saw several dragons much larger and more colorful than Toothless taking care of baby dragons or sleeping in the sun or just lazily circling in a warm updraft by the seaside cliffs.

“It’s… amazing,” Astrid breathed, forgetting to cling so tightly to Hiccup as she peered over the dragon’s side. Her fears evaporated when she saw dragons spitting fire at each other and another dragon patiently snatching a hanging bucket of water off a vine and pouring its contents over the smoking site.

“Did you teach them to do that thing with the water?” Astrid asked excitedly, and before he could answer, a million more questions flew to mind. “How many species of dragons are there? Do you ride all of them? Have you ever fallen off? Why are they-”

“Alright, alright! You have questions, I understand,” Hiccup chuckled, twisting around to grin at her over his shoulder. Suddenly his smile faded, as if remembering something. “But I have to tell you, I can’t answer most of your questions. You already know where the island is and that dragons exist- I can’t give you much more information,” Hiccup told her firmly, but he was still smiling, albeit more sadly. Astrid glanced down at the beach where the tourists were, but Toothless was flying too far away for the people to be visible.

Was her mother worried about her? Had she even noticed that Astrid was gone?

“Hiccup, do you live here alone?” Astrid asked suddenly. The boy stiffened in front of her, and she briefly wondered if bringing up sensitive topics while hundreds of feet in the air was really a good idea.

“I do now,” he answered shortly, and even Astrid in all her boldness knew not to touch that subject anymore. At least while not on the back of a dragon.

“Why don’t you come with us?” she suggested in a rush, though she suspected what his answer would be. “You can stowaway on the cruise ship. Start a new life somewhere with more people, and go to school, and-”

“I can’t leave Toothless,” Hiccup interrupted quietly.

“I know he must be a good pet, but he’ll be fine on his own here, so you’d both be-”

“No!” Hiccup exclaimed, and Astrid stopped talking. The wind filled the silence for a moment.

“Toothless wouldn’t be fine without me,” Hiccup finally said more calmly. “He lost a tailfin when- when there was an accident. I work this pedal so he can fly, so without me, he can never leave the ground.”

“I didn’t know,” Astrid replied softly, glancing back at the dragon’s tail. Sure enough, one tailfin was metal and leather instead of smooth black scales. In front of her Hiccup shrugged, not meeting her eyes.

“To be completely honest, I wouldn’t be fine without him, either. He’s not a pet to me, Astrid, he’s- he’s my best friend.” Toothless made a crooning noise as if returning the sentiment, and Astrid became a little more convinced that the dragon understood everything they were saying.

“How do you survive here alone?” Astrid asked, changing the subject. “Is there anything I can give you that would help?”

“A supply ship runs a route nearby. Toothless and I usually go take the few things I can’t make on the island myself. Trust me, I’ve done this most of my life,” Hiccup added with a slightly proud grin, the last topic of conversation apparently forgotten. Astrid smiled back, and settled her arms around him in a hug this time instead of clinging for her life.

“I can try to come back and visit,” she offered after a pleasantly quiet moment. “You shouldn’t be alone out here.”

“No. Someone might find the location of the island,” Hiccup replied, and Astrid was relieved to at least hear the regret in his voice. He hadn’t been out of human contact so long that he couldn’t make a friend. “I’ll put you back near the beach with the others, and once you leave, you can’t come back.”

“Well, you’ll just have to come visit me,” Astrid retorted, and as the dragon swooped to a graceful landing, she was pleased to see that the suggestion had surprised Mr. Know-It-All.

“Think about it,” Astrid said more gently, then squared her shoulders and jumped off Toothless’s back. She took a deep breath before Hiccup could answer the suggestion. “Okay. That mountain is a dormant volcano, right?” she asked, pointing at the highest point on the island.

“Mostly dormant,” Hiccup shrugged. “Why?”

“You need to fake an eruption,” Astrid said firmly. Hiccup’s eyes lit up at the idea. Toothless made an encouraging sort of croaking noise.

“Of course! Smoke from the top made by ordinary fire wouldn’t hurt anything, but it would scare all of the tourists away,” Hiccup concluded with excitement.

“And they would never come back to an island with an active volcano,” Astrid pointed out. The two new friends exchanged a smile.

“Where do you live?” Hiccup asked suddenly.

“3741 Clearmont Circle, San Francisco, California, United States,” Astrid rattled off.

“Then someday I’ll see you there,” Hiccup replied with a grin.

“Until then,” Astrid smiled, and then the island boy was gone as he and the black dragon disappeared into the trees.

The chaos that ensued when Astrid ran out of the trees screaming five minutes later was something the Thorston twins would have been proud of. Smoke was coming up in a huge plume from the top of the volcano, and the tourists couldn’t get into the boats fast enough. Astrid distinctly heard the captain of the cruise ship vowing never to return to the Barbaric Archipelago’s volcano island with lots of weird angry lizards, and Astrid couldn’t help but smile.

At dinner with her mother and Scott’s family hours later, Astrid was still smiling. Scott seemed to take it as an encouraging sign, but Astrid showed him she was perfectly capable of smiling and crushing his foot at the same time. He backed off somewhat after that, so Astrid was having one of the best nights of the vacation so far-

“Please, I’m not crazy!” a woman said loudly. Astrid immediately stopped listening to the parents’ already-old talk about the horrible volcanic island, and peered over Scott’s shoulder at a bedraggled woman clutching a blanket around her shoulders and arguing with the captain.

“I never said that you-” The captain was cut off by the auburn-haired woman.

“Sir, please! My son is alone on an island in the Barbaric Archipelago! He’s only thirteen, please, he can’t stay out there alone, I need to-”

“Ma’am, we’ve just been to the nearest island, and trust me, no one could survive there. Certainly not a young boy.” The captain looked skeptical of the woman’s story, and gave the first mate a subtle nod. As the man left with a purposeful stride, Astrid got up from her seat and approached the woman’s table.

“You have to believe me!” the woman cried. “We need to rescue him.”

“I’m going to go find the ship’s doctor, ma’am, and then we’ll talk about this more,” the captain said soothingly, before hurrying off after the first mate. Astrid quickly sat down across from the woman, who was muttering under her breath.

“-could be crazy, it’s been twelve years of course, no way he could have survived and now Stoick is gone, I’m just a mad old woman-”

“You’re not crazy,” Astrid interrupted quietly.

“What? I- I’m not? I’m not crazy?” The stranger had bags under her eyes, and her hair was still dripping water. Astrid wondered what she had gone through to get on this ship, but there was no time to ask. She would have to trust that this woman was really sane.

“I’ve seen him,” Astrid continued in a low voice, glancing back to see if her mother was coming to drag her back. So far, so good. “His name is Hiccup, right?”

The woman let out a choked laugh, holding her hand over her mouth. “Of course! He had hiccups so often before he was born. We didn’t know if he would be a boy or a girl, and ‘Hiccup’ was so cute… I didn’t know that name would stick for so long after- after I…” She trailed off, and Astrid caught sight of the captain guarding the nearest doorway, subtly eyeing their table.

“If you want to meet him, you’ll have to find another way. This ship won’t go back there,” Astrid cautioned her. Hiccup’s mother nodded.

“Very well,” she cleared her throat and seemed to regain her composure, a new light flickering in her eyes. “I know just the thing to do.” The woman stood up, her suitcase in hand as she briskly walked toward the opposite door. On a whim, Astrid followed the woman, easily tugging her arm out of her mother’s worried grip as she passed that table.

“What’s your plan?” Astrid asked softly. The stranger glanced back at Astrid, frowning.

“I’m getting off this ship. Go back to your family, little one,” she said rather dismissively, pushing through a swinging door. Astrid scowled and pushed through after her.

“I am not little! I’m as old as your son, and if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have even known he was alive!” Astrid snapped.

“Yes, thank you for that. Now go back before you get in trouble with the captain!” The woman hurried through the carpeted corridors, her bare feet making much less sound than Astrid’s flip-flops.

“I don’t care about the captain!” Astrid retorted angrily. “I’m coming with you!”

“Once I get on a lifeboat, there’s not going to be a way back onto this ship, young lady!”

“Maybe that’s why I want to go with you! You can’t tell me what to do!”

Hiccup’s mother drew herself up to her full height and glared at Astrid commandingly. Astrid crossed her arms and glared right back.

“There!” someone shouted. The staring contest broken, both women broke into a run again with the captain and first mate in hot pursuit.

“I’m coming with you!” Astrid insisted.

“No!” the woman growled. They burst out onto the deck of the ship and ran immediately to the side, the monsoon’s rain drenching Astrid instantly. A large rowboat stocked with provisions and extra oars was positioned precariously on the side of the ship. Hiccup’s mom jumped in and began fiddling with the lever, using one arm to hold Astrid back. The captain flung open the door and caught sight of them, the first mate not far behind.

“You need me!” Astrid yelled over the sound of the storm.

“I do not! Your family needs you!” the auburn-haired woman shouted back.

“They never did, and they don’t now!” Astrid cried, and then knocked the woman’s arm to the side, leaping into the rowboat. She pushed Hiccup’s mom out of the way and then hit the lever to instantly drop the lifeboat, just like they had been taught in the safety debriefing on the first day. The boat dropped into the water, letting the captain’s hands close on empty air above their heads.

“They can still pull you back up if you jump out now!” Hiccup’s mom shouted.

“Then you better hope I don’t knock you over the side!” Astrid yelled back. She grabbed an oar and stuck it in the water, rowing away from the cruise ship and toward the island. After a long moment, Hiccup’s mother took up the other oar and helped without saying a word.

It felt like hours, and maybe it was, but time didn’t seem to exist while they were on a tiny wooden boat being tossed around by the enormous waves and pelted by the pouring rain. Finally, a dark mass on the horizon came in sight, and Astrid shouted with glee, pointing to it so that the older woman would see it, too. Hiccup’s mother smiled for the first time since Astrid had mentioned Hiccup, and their aching arms found renewed strength. The island was getting closer and everything was going as well as could be expected for a wooden rowboat on the ocean during a monsoon.

And then they hit the rocks.

The rowboat almost immediately began to sink. The hole torn in the side was almost big enough for Astrid to fit through, and water poured in much too fast to bail out.

“Jump!” the woman yelled. “Swim for the shoreline or grab a rock!”

“Hiccup!” Astrid screamed as loudly as she could, ignoring the other woman’s advice. “Hiccup! Toothless! Help us!”

“Come on! You can’t be near the boat when it capsizes!” the woman cried. Astrid followed Hiccup’s mother, leaping over the side of the rowboat and fighting to keep her head above the stinging waves.

“Hiccup!” she yelled again, coughing up her mouthful of seawater. “HICCUP!”

A wave went over her head, and Astrid went under for a moment too long.

Just as her vision filled with dark spots, a freckled hand gripped her wrist.

And then the dark spots expanded too widely to see at all.

…

Astrid woke up coughing. She sat up quickly, then covered her eyes. The sun was out, and its light was blinding. Upon further inspection, she was on the beach, the waves just reaching her toes, and Hiccup’s mother was stretched out next to her, unconscious but breathing.

“What did you think you were doing?” a voice demanded, and Astrid whirled around to see Hiccup and his dragon both giving her a hard look. Astrid’s face broke into a grin, and she scrambled to her feet, throwing her arms around the island boy.

“You saved us!” she exclaimed happily. “Hiccup- thank you!”

“Sure,” Hiccup got out with a small cough, and as Astrid pulled away, she noticed his ears were strangely red. Maybe it was sunburn.

“What are you doing back here, Astrid?” Hiccup asked after she had stepped back. “I thought we agreed you couldn’t come back here.”

“I wasn’t going to, really, but then I met, well… I think she should tell you,” Astrid decided, glancing back at Hiccup’s mom. Toothless took a few steps closer and sniffed the stranger cautiously.

“Why?” Hiccup asked suspiciously, keeping an eye on his dragon. “What does she have to do with me?”

“I think she should tell you,” Astrid repeated firmly, and Hiccup threw his hands up in frustrated surrender as Toothless returned to his side.

“Fine, alright. If she wakes up, then shout. I have things to do!” He swung a leg over Toothless’s neck and vanished into the trees before Astrid could protest. She huffed out a sigh and plopped down on the sand next to Hiccup’s mom.

Yeah, this was just going splendidly.

It took about two hours for the other woman to wake up. Astrid had enough time to wade in the ocean, unsuccessfully try to figure out how to drink from a coconut, and notice a distinct lack of dragons on the beach before Hiccup’s mom finally came to life.

“What did- Where am I?” she ground out, her voice hoarse and dry. Astrid gave her a thin smile.

“We made it to the island. Hiccup rescued us,” she explained shortly.

“Hicc-? Oh! Hiccup!” She hurried to stand, looking around for her son excitedly. “Where is he?”

“He said he had ‘things to do’ and left us here,” Astrid grumbled. “I don’t think he trusts strangers very much.”

“He gets that from me,” the older woman sighed happily. Astrid rolled her eyes, then went to the edge of the forest.

“Hiccup!” she called. “She’s awake now, if you want to come-” Astrid let out a little squeak of surprise as Hiccup suddenly dropped down from the trees to land right in front of her.

“I had hoped she would wake up soon,” he said casually, and walked past Astrid toward the stranger.

Astrid sayed back at the treeline, and didn’t hear most of the exchange. Hiccup’s arms were crossed, and he was clearly trying to look angry, but the woman had already teared up, and it seemed to throw him off. Astrid saw the woman speaking, and then Hiccup’s eyes widened, his arms falling limply to his sides. She waved her hands a lot when she talked, just like her son.

“Stoick, Valka, and Hiccup Haddock!” the woman shouted, before returning to a normal speaking tone. Astrid chuckled to herself. Those were strange names.

The conversation only lasted for another minute before Hiccup was backing away, shaking his head and yelling incomprehensibly. Astrid watched with far less amusement as he turned and ran back into the forest, leaving his mother alone on the beach. Valka’s arms fell, her son’s name on her lips as she watched him go. Astrid finally decided to approach.

“Didn’t go well?” she asked casually.

“He doesn’t want me here,” Valka replied sadly. “I can’t blame him. I disappeared for twelve years, only to invade his home unasked. If there was a way to leave… I would.”

“What? No!” Astrid responded in outrage. “Look, he might be mad right now, but he’s been without human company for a long time! ...I think. Besides, you’re his _mother_. He needs you! Go after him.”

Valka still looked uncertain, so Astrid grabbed her hand and started to drag her into the forest.

“Look at it this way: You came here for him from wherever you live, and I’m guessing it wasn’t an easy trip. You were willing to steal a _rowboat_ during a _monsoon_! Don’t let anyone stop you from doing what you know is right.” Astrid tugged Valka through the island’s overgrown forest, mindful to beware of small dragons scuttling about underfoot or hanging from trees.

“You’re right,” Valka said wonderingly. “I- I’ve never had to do this before.”

“You’re doing it now,” Astrid replied firmly.

They wandered through the woods until it was dark, and they were tripping over things they couldn’t see. Bugs were nipping at their faces and limbs, and their bare feet were sore from the unfamiliar terrain. Occasionally one or both of them called for Hiccup or his dragon, but neither answered. Finally, just when Astrid was ready to fall asleep in the middle of the dragon-inhabited forest, a light appeared in the trees, rapidly moving toward them.

“What is it?” Astrid whispered.

“I don’t know,” Valka replied, her voice calm, but her grip on Astrid’s shoulder tight. Astrid heart was pounding faster and faster. What if it was a dragon coming to eat them? What if it was a huge, angry firefly?

The light stopped right above them, and revealed Hiccup’s freckled face and green eyes. He was sitting on some sort of zipline contraption, holding a lantern in the hand not gripping the rope. He wasn’t smiling.

“You came,” Valka said in surprise.

“Thank you,” Astrid sighed. Hiccup didn’t reply.

Together, the two women followed a silent Hiccup and his lantern through the woods, until more light filtered through the trees. A house came into view, built from the island’s wood and speckled with windows. A firepit was in the front yard, and though there was a strangely burned patch of ground next to it, no dragons were in sight.

“Feel free to go inside,” Hiccup spoke up, sitting next to the firepit and examining contents of the pot hanging over the low flames. Though the house was surprisingly modern and looked inviting, Astrid sat down next to Hiccup, and after a moment, Valka followed suit, a bit more hesitantly.

“Hungry?” Hiccup asked them without looking up.

“Yes!” Astrid replied eagerly.

“I could eat,” Valka said more politely. Hiccup scooped a strange and frankly gross-looking mush into three shallow bowls, and handed them out. Astrid ate it without reservation, and Valka more timidly took a bite. After the first taste, Valka and Astrid exchanged a worried look.

“What’s in this?” Valka asked after she swallowed.

“Mung beans, some gobo root, and- Oh, and these are mealworms,” Hiccup explained casually, displaying some live, squirming worms in another bowl. Astrid felt her stomach twist, and Valka set her bowl down very quickly. Hiccup casually took another bite.

“So, uh… How long have you lived here, Hiccup?” Valka asked awkwardly.

“As long as I can remember,” Hiccup replied shortly.

“Where’s Stoick?” Valka asked hesitantly, and Astrid assumed that was Hiccup’s father’s name. _‘Stoick, Valka, and Hiccup Haddock!’_

“Gone. I don’t want to talk about it,” Hiccup shot back, and looked determinedly at the ground while he continued eating.

“Where’s Toothless?” Astrid asked. Finally, Hiccup allowed himself a very small smile at the mention of his best friend.

“He’s harassing the others, who are trying to sleep. I can’t quite talk him out of it, and-” Hiccup unsuccessfully tried to smother a laugh, “-it really is funny.”

“Toothless?” Valka asked curiously, sensing the safer topic. “Is he your dog?” Hiccup burst into laughter for real this time, a pleasant sound after his stillness during the walk to his home. Astrid grinned with him, trying to picture the dragon’s reaction to being called a dog.

“No! No, no, no, Toothless is not a dog,” Hiccup finally got out, reigning in his laughter after a few moments. “Toothless is a… Well, he’s called a Night Fury.”

“A type of bat?” Valka guessed, and Hiccup shook his shaggy auburn hair, grinning.

“Nope! Not a bat. Would you like to meet him?” he offered.

“I’d love to!” Valka agreed quickly, and the trio stood up. Hiccup took a deep breath, then surprisingly let out a realistic roar. After a moment, there was an answering roar, and in a matter of seconds, the black dragon himself came tumbling through the trees and into the area lit by the fire and the light from the house.

“What in the-” Valka began, and Astrid laughed at the shock on her face.

“He’s a dragon!” Hiccup said grandly, sweeping an arm up to gesture to his best friend. “Valka, Toothless. Toothless, Valka.” His mother looked completely taken aback by the introduction to a dragon. Toothless stepped forward and sniffed her again, then gave her a full-body lick. Hiccup began to laugh again, and Valka wrinkled her nose at the goop coating her arms and clothes.

“He likes you,” Astrid observed with a giggle, and Valka finally smiled.

“Good,” she stated, “I like him, too.” But she was looking at Hiccup.

Astrid had abandoned her mother and her friends and her life as she had known it. But as she stood with a new friend and his long-lost mother and a dragon, she thought that maybe, this would be the start of a brand new, better life in the Barbaric Archipelago.

At the very least, it was a life she wanted to try.


End file.
